ary expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA

Transnational Issues Saint Kitts and Nevis

Disputes - international:
joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves
Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which
permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large
portion of the Caribbean Sea

Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US
and Europe; some money-laundering activity

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

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@Saint Lucia

Introduction Saint Lucia

Background:
The island, with its fine natural harbor at Castries, was contested
between England and France throughout the 17th and early 18th
centuries (changing possession 14 times); it was finally ceded to
the UK in 1814. Self-government was granted in 1967 and independence
in 1979.

Geography Saint Lucia

Location:
Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic
Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago

Geographic coordinates:
13 53 N, 60 68 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 616 sq km
water: 10 sq km
land: 606 sq km

Area - comparative:
3.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
158 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm

Climate:
tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from
January to April, rainy season from May to August

Terrain:
volcanic and mountainous with some broad, fertile valleys

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Gimie 950 m

Natural resources:
forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs,
geothermal potential

Land use:
arable land: 6.56%
permanent crops: 22.95%
other: 70.49% (2001)

Irrigated land:
30 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
hurricanes and volcanic activity

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion, particularly in the northern region

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the S